Ironing apparatus

ABSTRACT

The invention concerns an ironing apparatus comprising an iron ( 1 ), a water reservoir and a pipe ( 2 ) connecting the reservoir to the iron ( 1 ), the sole plate ( 4 ) of the iron ( 1 ) including an evaporation chamber ( 5 ) adapted to generate steam from the water coming from the reservoir, the evaporation chamber ( 5 ) including on one of its walls ( 6 ) a water inlet ( 7 ), the iron further including a device for closing and opening ( 8 ) said inlet ( 7 ). Said ironing apparatus is characterized in that it comprises a device for forcing the displacement of the water arranged between the reservoir and evaporation chamber ( 5 ), the latter including a mobile wall ( 8 ) arranged parallel and opposite the wall ( 6 ) including the inlet ( 7 ), said mobile wall ( 8 ) acting as valve for said inlet ( 7 ).

This application is the US national phase of international applicationPCT/CH02/00225 filed 23 Apr. 2002 which designated the U.S.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to an ironing apparatus with the generation ofsteam.

PRIOR ART

Ironing apparatuses comprising an iron, a water reservoir and a pipeconnecting the reservoir to the iron are known.

In several devices, the steam is generated separately from the iron, atthe reservoir. It is then conveyed to the iron through a pipe.

With the apparatus disclosed in American patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,852,899,the steam is generated in the iron, within a vaporizing chamber situatedabove the sole.

With the apparatuses described in patent documents U.S. Pat. Nos.5,430,963, 5,842,295, GB 2,217,351 and EP 0 618 324, the vaporizingchamber is situated in the sole.

The apparatuses described in the aforementioned documents have severaladvantages:

-   -   increased system safety because the user no longer has to open        and fill a steam generator (boiler) but has simply to perform        these operations on a water reservoir at ambient temperature;    -   reduced heating time;    -   reduction in manufacturing costs because there is no longer any        external pressurized steam generator and transfer of steam via a        lagged pipe;    -   energy saving because the heat is now confined to the iron.

However, these apparatuses do suffer from certain disadvantages,particularly:

-   -   a relatively long lag between the demand for steam and the        generation of steam;    -   poor quality of the steam where it leaves the sole as a result        of the presence of unvaporized water or condensate therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention offers, amongst other things, the advantage ofovercoming the aforesaid problems.

It relates to an ironing apparatus comprising an iron, a water reservoirand a pipe connecting the reservoir to the iron, the sole of the ironcomprising a vaporizing chamber designed to generate steam from wateroriginating from the reservoir, the vaporizing chamber comprising, onone of its walls, a water inlet orifice, the iron further comprisingmeans for opening and closing said inlet orifice, the ironing apparatusbeing characterized in that it comprises means for forcing thedisplacement of the water, which means are arranged between thereservoir and the vaporizing chamber, the vaporizing chamber comprisinga moving wall arranged parallel to and facing the wall that has theinlet orifice, said moving wall acting as a valve for said inletorifice.

The “means for forcing the displacement of the water” may for exampleconsist of a pump or more simply consist of mains pressure when the pipeis connected directly to a faucet. In the latter instance, the term“water reservoir” is therefore to be understood as meaning the mains.

The vaporizing chamber in the iron according to the invention thereforehas a variable volume, which is zero when the moving wall is pressedagainst the wall containing the water inlet orifice and which increasesabove and beyond a certain pressure exerted by the water at the inletorifice.

As the walls of the vaporizing chamber are heated, for example by aresistive electric element which heats the entirety of the sole, thismeans that the water is rapidly turned into steam when it enters thevaporizing chamber.

It should be pointed out that the variable volume of the vaporizingchamber ensures optimum contact between the heating surface consistingof the walls of the chamber and the water, the latter as a result beingturned into steam far more quickly than it is in the vaporizing chambersof apparatuses of the prior art.

According to a preferred embodiment, the moving wall has the shape of adisk, the face of the disk not facing said inlet orifice being incontact with a spring arranged in such a way that it exerts a force onthe disk toward the inlet orifice.

In one particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, under theinlet orifice, the disk has a cylindrical cavity which contains an innerdisk arranged on a spring. This configuration in particular has theadvantage of improving the quality of the flow of steam.

According to a preferred embodiment, the face of the disk and/or of theinner disk that faces toward the water inlet orifice has concentricstriations.

The concentric striations act as a trap for the unvaporized water orcondensate that the steam carries with it as it travels toward theperiphery of the disk. The water trapped in these striations which arepreferably arranged in concentric circles, finds itself as if in amini-boiler, closed by contact between the disk and the wall containingthe water inlet orifice. This water in turn vaporizes instantly at ahigh temperature and a high pressure and the steam thus formed formspart of the overall vaporization which escapes to the outside of thedisk.

According to another preferred embodiment, but one which has the sameresult as in the previous embodiment, the concentric striations arearranged on the wall containing the water inlet orifice, around thelatter.

As a preference, the cross section of the striations is V-shaped. Thisis because it has been found that vaporization is optimized using such ageometry.

According to one embodiment, the striations are discontinuous.

Other particulars and advantages of the invention will become furtherapparent from the following nonlimiting examples.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 depicts a section from the side of the base of an iron accordingto the invention

FIG. 2 depicts a view from above of the element of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 depicts a view of this same element, from underneath

FIG. 4 depicts an enlargement of part of FIG. 1

FIG. 5 depicts an alternative form of the element of FIG. 4.

The apparatus depicted in part in FIGS. 1 and 3 is made up of an iron(1), only the lower part of which is illustrated, of a reservoir (notillustrated) external to the iron, of a pump (also not illustrated) andof a pipe (2). The sole (4) of the iron (1) comprises a vaporizingchamber (5) connected to a labyrinth (14) for superheating the steam,which labyrinth is itself connected to a duct (17) that leads to outletorifices (16) where the steam (15) is injected into the fabric beingironed. A heater body (13) is arranged above of the sole (4) so as totransmit heat with the latter. The vaporizing chamber (5) comprises, onone of its walls (6), an inlet orifice (7) for water originating fromthe reservoir. The opposite wall of the vaporizing chamber (5) to theone (6) containing the inlet orifice (7) has the form of a moving disk(8) (see also FIG. 4). Under the inlet orifice (7), the disk (8)comprises a circular cavity containing an inner disk (18) arranged on aspring (19).

In the rest mode, that is to say when the pump is not running, the disk(8) is pressed against the wall (6) containing the inlet orifice (7) bymeans of a spring (12) exerting a force on the opposite face (11) of thedisk, the inner disk (18) being itself pressed against the inlet orifice(7), particularly by virtue of the spring (19) arranged in thecylindrical cavity. The wall (6) containing the inlet orifice (7) isalso equipped with a series of concentric striations (10) in the form ofcircles arranged around the inlet orifice (7). According to analternative form of embodiment the concentric striations may bediscontinuous.

In the alternative form illustrated in FIG. 5, the apparatus isidentical to the one set out in FIGS. 1 to 4 except for the location ofthe striations, which in this instance are arranged on the face (9) ofthe disk (8) and the face of the inner disk (18) that face toward theinlet orifice (7).

The apparatus works as follows: once the reservoir has been filled andthe heating body (13) has been raised to the operating temperature,typically of the order of 140 to 240° C., the pump is operated (or, ifwater at mains pressure is being used, an electric valve is opened) andwater is forced to enter the vaporizing chamber (5) by the parting ofthe disks (8, 9) from the inlet orifice (7). As a preference, theresistive force of the springs (12, 19) is chosen to allow water toenter the vaporizing chamber at a pressure of between 2 and 7 bar.

Once introduced into the vaporizing chamber (5), toward the centralregion of the disk (8), the water is instantly turned into steam uponcontact with the disks (8, 18) and the wall (6) of the vaporizingchamber (5) that contains the inlet orifice (7). The steam thus formedmoves toward the periphery of the disk (8) and enters the labyrinth (14)where it is superheated, typically up to 160° C., before being conveyedvia the duct (17) to the outlet orifices (16) to be injected into thefabric being ironed. The residue of unvaporized water and/or thecondensate present in the vaporizing chamber (5) is trapped in theconcentric striations (10) that form a mini-boiler closed by contactbetween the disk (8) and the wall (6) of the vaporizing chamber (5) thatcontains the inlet orifice (7). This water in turn instantly turns intosteam at a high temperature and a high pressure and the steam thusformed forms part of the overall vaporization that escapes to theperiphery of the disk.

It goes without saying that the invention is not restricted to theexamples described hereinabove.

The description has covered a moving wall lying inside the sole. It isalso possible to arrange it on the sole.

It should be pointed out that the moving wall of the vaporizing chamber,which does not necessarily have to have the shape of a disk, acceleratesthe conversion of water into steam while at the same time improving thereliability of the system. This is because the system is considerablysimplified through the fact that the moving wall also acts as a valve.

The presence of the striations considerably improves the quality of thesteam injected into the fabric because the presence of unvaporized wateris eliminated and the iron no longer spits.

The number of disks used is not necessarily limited to a maximum of two.It is perfectly conceivable to form a cylindrical cavity in the innerdisk, this cavity containing another disk arranged on a spring.

It must finally be noted that, with the iron according to the presentinvention, unlike apparatuses of the prior art, the vaporizationtemperature and pressure do not vary.

1. An ironing apparatus comprising an iron, a water reservoir and a pipeconnecting the reservoir to the iron, the sole of the iron comprising avaporizing chamber designed to generate steam from water originatingfrom the reservoir, the vaporizing chamber comprising, on one of itswalls, a water inlet orifice, the iron further comprising means foropening and closing said inlet orifice, the ironing apparatus beingcharacterized in that it comprises means for forcing the displacement ofthe water, which means are arranged between the reservoir and thevaporizing chamber, the vaporizing chamber comprising a moving wallarranged parallel to and facing the wall that has the inlet orifice,said moving wall acting as a valve for said inlet orifice, wherein themoving wall has the shape of a disk, the face of the disk not facingsaid inlet orifice being in contact with a spring arranged in such a waythat it exerts a force on the disk toward the inlet orifice.
 2. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that under the inletorifice, the disk has a cylindrical cavity which contains an inner diskarranged on a spring.
 3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1characterized in that the face of the disk and/or of the inner disk thatfaces toward the inlet orifice has concentric striations.
 4. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the wall of thevaporizing chamber that contains the inlet orifice has concentricstriations.
 5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, characterized inthat the cross section of the concentric striations is V-shaped.